PHOENIX — I wrote my first Dawn Staley column 30 years ago this month, April 13, 1996.

The occasion was a historic homecoming in Staley’s hometown of Philadelphia. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team that was scheduled to play an exhibition game in Philadelphia.

To commemorate the occasion, Nike was unveiling a gigantic 67-foot-by-100-foot mural of Staley on a building around the corner from where she grew up, across the street from her elementary school and across from the Hank Gathers Recreation Center, where she polished her game.

Staley was the first woman to be so honored.

Staley, 26 at the time, had already enjoyed an outstanding college career at the University of Virginia and was a high school legend at Dobbins Tech in Philly.

But this was next level.

When the mural was unveiled, the normally stoic Staley was clearly moved. When her mother, Estelle, arrived and saw the towering mural of her daughter, she broke down and cried. Estelle Staley told me that since moving from South Carolina to Philadelphia in 1957, she had seen a lot of good things and a lot of sad things, but had never laid eyes on anything like this: her baby girl — the youngest of five — looming larger than life, back home in Philadelphia.

“I never thought it would amount to this,” Estelle Staley said, referring to Dawn’s commitment to basketball. “Words can’t really express how I feel right now.”

Thirty years later, Dawn Staley continues to rise. She has risen so far that she towers above the world of women’s basketball with some of the greatest names the game has known. A month shy of her 56th birthday, Dawn Staley has become a pillar of the basketball establishment, an astounding success in the game she learned in the streets of Philadelphia.

On Friday, Staley faces another pillar: Geno Auriemma, the legendary head coach of the defending champion Connecticut Huskies. South Carolina and UConn will meet in a Final Four game for the right to play for the national title.

Auriemma has led UConn to 12 national titles; Staley has led South Carolina to three. She won her first national title in 2017, the same year her mother died.

UConn defeated South Carolina for the national title last season, but Staley has been a thorn in Auriemma’s side for the past 10 years. The Gamecocks beat UConn for the championship in 2022.

A month after that dedication ceremony in Philadelphia, Staley won her first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. In 2004, Staley was elected flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team. She also won her third Olympic gold.

Staley was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and has led South Carolina to six consecutive Final Four appearances.

As significant as Friday’s game with UConn may be, Staley has reached the point in her career where her legacy will not be impacted by whether she wins or loses. She is aware that she still has a mountain to climb when it comes to approximating what UConn has built.

“UConn has been the standard in women’s basketball for a very long time, and everyone has to measure up to their standard,” Staley said Thursday. “They allow us something to reach for, and when you have a traditionally rich program like that, it helps us all grow.”

But don’t take for granted what Staley has accomplished at South Carolina.

Pat Summitt won eight national titles at Tennessee. Kim Mulkey won three at Baylor and one at LSU. Staley has had an entirely different impact on the women’s game.

She has amplified the importance of representation. She is an African American woman who cut her teeth in the projects of Philadelphia, beat the odds and climbed the heights.

She used basketball as a vehicle to make it out of the inner city, but as she made clear at that unveiling ceremony 30 years ago, she carries that spirit with her wherever she goes. Staley has dedicated her life to having an inspirational impact, especially on young Black girls.

She is a self-styled dream maker — a mother figure, an aunt, a big sister. From her style and commercials to the wins and her no-nonsense, disciplined approach, Staley has functioned as a guiding light for aspiring players who look like her.

Agot Makeer, South Carolina’s freshman guard from Ontario, Canada, said she first heard of Staley when South Carolina played Iowa in the 2023 Final Four.

“After that I really fell in love with South Carolina,” she said. “I loved how they played, and I loved the players. When you commit to her, she is going to be a mother figure. She wants not only to be your coach but a mentor in your life. That’s something she carriers with her.”

Madina Okot, South Carolina’s 6-foot-6 center, was a girl growing up in Mumias, Kenya, when she first learned about Staley. The 21-year-old only began playing basketball in 2020.

She played at Mississippi State last season, then transferred to South Carolina for this year. In just her second season playing in the NCAA, Okot was the SEC’s leading rebounder, was named to the All-SEC second team and is one of five finalists for the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s best center. She is projected to be a top-12 pick in the WNBA draft later this month.

Okot said Staley has changed the trajectory of her career.

“She’s really changed my life, basketball-wise and just my life in general,” she said. “She’s provided me with support. Any kind of support you want, she’s available. I’m away from my family, and she made it so easy. She’s my family away from home.”

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Staley was the flag bearer for the U.S. team. Since then, she has become a flag bearer for much more. She has become a loud voice that chides the establishment for not hiring more head coaches who look like her.

In her recently published book “Uncommon Favor,” Staley forcefully advocates for more Black women to be hired as college basketball head coaches. She writes about the importance of representation.

“I’m still usually the sole Black coach at the NCAA Final Four,” she wrote. “When there are only white coaches in the marquee games, it sends a message, that those are the only folks capable of coaching at the highest level.

“The Final Four is a recruitment tool. Would-be collegiate players are watching; donors are watching. If you see two Black women, there it broadens the scope of what is deemed excellence. We need to bring these outdated conventions to the forefront and pose the uncomfortable questions.”

Staley is no longer that shy little girl who used to avoid eye contact. She is reserved but bold, and she insists that the young women who come through her program understand their value, worth and power.

She has found a home in South Carolina where she has built a dynasty, but she has never lost her grit, her toughness, her sense of appreciation for her roots. I witnessed that appreciation in Philadelphia 30 years ago, and it continues to be apparent today.

Staley remains that towering hometown hero who never left home.

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